Have you heard about the community reading program that's taking place in Cayuga County this fall? We're encouraging everyone in Auburn and surrounding communities to read the book “Nickel and Dimed” over the next few weeks. Once you read the book, you'll want to talk about it.

That's why we've scheduled a series of book discussions for the first week of October and a series of speakers throughout the month.

“Nickel and Dimed” is the kind of book that's hard to put down and hard to forget. It explores the real-life world of people who work low-wage jobs. Author Barbara Ehrenreich decided to find out whether it was possible to survive on $6 or $7 an hour. She took on jobs as a waitress, hotel maid, house cleaner, nursing home aide and Wal-Mart clerk, living only on the wages the jobs paid. She discovered a world of grueling physical labor and constant worry about finances, where survival was often made possible only by the grace of people facing similar hardships.

The idea behind a community reading program is simple: People from all walks of life read the same book at the same time, then join to discuss it.

The Cayuga Reads committee has been meeting since early March to plan this community effort. (The committee has representatives from the Auburn city school district, Cayuga Community College, Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES and Seymour Library.) The goal of our first meeting was to pick a book - and as soon as “Nickel and Dimed” was mentioned, everyone wanted to talk about their reactions.

Book club members here at Seymour Library had the same reaction when they read the book last year. It's a book that inspires thought, conversation and action.

We've scheduled several discussions already, and we're encouraging people to host their own book discussions, too, in their neighborhood, workplace or place of worship. (If you'd like to host one, call the library at 252-2571, and we can provide discussion guides.)

Planned community

discussions include:

€ 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, at Seymour Library

€ Noon Thursday, Oct. 5, at Seymour Library.

We're hoping to draw people who work in downtown Auburn, and we're encouraging them to bring a brown-bag lunch. Don't worry if you can't get here right at noon - we'll try to give people a few minutes to arrive.

There will also be a discussion held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5, at Creekside Books and Coffee, 35 Fennell St. in Skaneateles.

We have a variety of speakers coming to Auburn later in the month to explore the book more. One of our speakers will talk about journalism and the ethical issues “Nickel and Dimed” raises. Other speakers will talk about “Who's Nickel and Dimed in Cayuga County?” and such subjects as health care and budgeting.

What we need now is YOU. Come to Seymour Library or go to your local library. If there's not a copy of “Nickel and Dimed” on the shelf, it's likely to be available through an inter-library loan. Waldenbooks at the Fingerlakes Mall and Creekside Books & Coffee plan to have paperback copies on sale. Read it, and pass it along to a friend.

Danette Davis is the children's librarian at the Seymour Library